Florida State clinched the ACC championship last season and earned a berth in the Orange Bowl. It was a great boost for program morale, but it came with a steep cost.

According to WarChant.com, the ACC title game participation cost the Seminoles nearly a half million. FSU lost more than $478,000, the website discovered through open records requests.

Florida State lost nearly $500,000 by participating in the ACC championship game against Georgia Tech. (AP Photo)

About $440,000 of the loss came from poor ticket sales for the game against the 6-6 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Each team was given 10,000 tickets to sell at prices ranging from $40 to $150. Florida State sold just 2,033 tickets for a total of $185,210.

According to the FSU ticket reconciliation form obtained by Warchant.com, Florida State was 100 percent responsible for the first 6,000 tickets. The ACC then covered 50 percent of the expenses for the first 1,000 unsold tickets after the initial 6,000; 75 percent of the next 1,000 tickets and 100 percent of the final 2,000 unsold tickets.

The face value of the 10,000 tickets was $774,190. After revenue, fees and the ACC’s help, FSU was stuck with a more than $440,000 loss on tickets; the net loss was $478,954.20.

No one from FSU commented for the story. However, a spokesperson for commissioner John Swofford said the league is discussing ways to ensure that no championship game participant takes a financial loss.

Television revenue was not factored into any losses. That number won’t be available until June.

Georgia Tech’s participation only came after Miami, the Coastal Division champion, announced that it would forego the chance the play as it is under NCAA investigation.